Hypnotherapy
by XxHot92xX
Summary: [slight KakaSaku] To instill fear and to experience it are two completely different things. [no naruto ownage]


_I'll take the fall for you _

_I hope you need this now_

o-o-o-o-o

He wasn't scared. That wasn't even a question. He'd seen it all throughout his 29 years of life and nothing could frighten him so. An "ojiisan" of sorts, he'd been around the block once or twice; he had kunai shoved up to his windpipes, mind torture thrust upon him and witnessed numerous assassinations that would otherwise send a civilian into an asylum. No matter how much horror growled and licked its chops, his hands never seemed to tremble. Whether this unique state of mind was a blessing or curse, he had yet to find out. In some small way, he had come to recognize that perhaps being fearless made people, in turn, fear _you_.

So, if he laughed in the face of danger, why were his hands shaking from the figure on his doorstep?

"Hatake-san."

Kakashi only nodded at the formality. His tongue felt swollen and he couldn't seem to swallow. The messenger in the threshold only eyed his blank expression in a fleeting glance before bowing slightly, "There is word that one of your former students has been administered into Konoha Hospital. The Godaime requests your presence."

_Thump._

When had his heart learned to pound? He nodded once more, dismissing the hokage's henchman into a 'poof' of smoke. He inhaled and exhaled what was a slightly shaky breath. The wispy tremors felt foreign coming from his masked mouth. It was a feeling that had never gnawed at his soul before.

_Thump. _

He took to the rooftops, his sandals skidding briefly on one building's loose tile. He tried to block out the grizzly images that his mind incessantly conjured. The ghastly pale faces of loved ones, bloody floorboards that were forever stained – all came flooding back into his dormant memory. Kakashi blinked away the angst-ridden slide show of his father's suicide and Obito's rocky grave from his grey eye. The loss feeling of dread was steadily becoming more recognized and unwelcome. Being in a panic wasn't going to help now, but the pumping adrenaline had other plans.

_Thump._

From a young, pre-preteen age, Kakashi had a lot to be scared of. An impeding war where he was on the front lines, enemies thrice his size, and a sensei that was almost fresh-faced as himself – it was a miracle he didn't die in the first three months of being promoted to chuunin. And yet, throughout all the slaughtering, mud and sweat, he never lost his composure. Kakashi had learned at a very young age that fear would get you no where from his father. Seeing him curled upon the floorboards that were streaked with crimson, Kakashi knew his father had failed his own philosophy.

So what was it now that had awakened his primal instinct that made blood pump in his ears? Kakashi took a leap off someone's gutter pipe. Was this the anxiety and panic that his late sensei always groaned about to his genin team? Was this the parental facade that crept silently upon him over the years of teaching his only trio of students?

_Thump._

The hospital was coming into view and Kakashi fought off the instinct to flee in the other direction. Walking past the white, sterile doors, Kakashi was faced with absolute tumult. Nurses ran frantically about, syringes in hand and gauze under their arms. The elite jounin could hear Tsunade's commanding voice shouting out orders and demands from down the hall to the right. The new sense of dread made him turn in that direction and jog lightly to where the Fifth's voice was booming.

Knocking was out of the question. If she had requested his presence, then dammit, he was barging in. Once he swung open the door, he had doubts if that was really the right decision. The Godaime swivelled her wild brown eyes towards his figure and ushered him over impatiently.

"About time you got here, Hatake."

Silently stepping beside the slug princess, Kakashi felt the thumping of his heart cease, replaced with skipping beats. As Tsunade barked at the other medics to get the hell out of the room, Kakashi only stared at his student in horrific awe. How did he not hear the screaming before this moment?

She lay there, strapped to the bed with restraints, screaming bloody murder that Kakashi had to wonder if her larynx was going to give out. Her pink hair was in disarray, the beautiful roseate tresses disheveled and sticking out in every angle possible. The emerald eyes that always shined with heart and knowledge were no more as a dark fog clouded them over. Kakashi was sure his ears were going to start bleeding if he stayed this close to her, but that consequence didn't seem to matter at the moment.

This was new and foreign to the copy nin.

She was in complete turmoil.

And he couldn't stop it.

The hokage whirled around to glare at him, "I deduced that she is under a strong, S-level genjutsu that doesn't seem to respond to basic or intricate releases. If this keeps up, Sakura will suffer irreversible mental damage."

_Thump._

Kakashi was under the spell to reach out and stroke Sakura's untidy locks back into place, but cringed at the unstable way her eyes never focused. The Godaime's words troubled him greatly. Sakura was known for her expertise in genjutsu and healing techniques (and not to mention her rational mind). If she couldn't break out of it and the Fifth who was the world renown healer couldn't dispel it, Kakashi knew that the bells ringing in urgent alarm in his ears told no lie.

Kakashi tried to speak in his normal bravado, but found himself uttering in a small voice, "What do you propose, Hokage-sama?"

How the Godaime heard his quiet question above the fervent shouts and cries of his female student, he'd never know. "There's only one way that I can think of that may pull her out of its hold. That's where you come in, Hatake."

Kakashi let his eyes leave Sakura's trembling form to meet the Tsunade's piercing gaze with a confused tilt of his silver-maned head, "How?"

Tsunade pushed Sakura back with a gentle but firm hand as the roseate-haired kunoichi fought against the chakra-restraints. A panicked scream danced in her hazelnut eyes before it passed, only to regain her professional composure once more.

"The Sharingan. I believe that if you create a genjutsu of your own with it, it'll counteract with the one she's suffering through. It's a longshot and the results can go either way."

Tsunade let a sad frown mar her young features as she looked upon her apprentice who was breathing raggedly. She let her gaze fall to Kakashi's serious eye, "I know it's hard for you to do, Kakashi. To use the Sharingan on a teammate, a student no less, is unforgivable in some eyes. It's the only thing that may work though. I put my trust in you, Kakashi."

Kakashi tore his eye away from the Godaime's pleading ones to stare at Sakura's limp figure, her eyes darting about, not seeing anything but the morbid pictures the genjutsu was probably conspiring. His left eye sucking Sakura into his own genjutsu to erase the other was logical in some ways. He was in control of what she would see and the Sharingan was capable of producing the most powerful illusions that could rival any other genjutsu. It could just work.

_Thump._

Kakashi knew he needed to act fast, but the idea of using the red weapon on his fragile student was something he frowned in disgust at. As he was having an inner battle, the Godaime had lost patience with him and reached up so quick that Kakashi never saw her hand remove his hitai.

"Now's the only time, Hatake! We're losing her! The genjutsu is swallowing her up!"

Kakashi could feel his heart quicken its metronomic beat. Sakura's breath came out in pathetic pants, her eyes still stricken with fear and confusion. The emerald orbs landed sporadically onto his own grey one and for a split second, the silver-haired jounin saw her silent plea.

_Thump. Thump._

Throwing away his doubts and images of his loved ones' deaths, Kakashi grabbed onto the bed's railing in a white-knuckled grip. He leaned over to where Sakura's head lay, but saw that her head moved too unpredictably to perform the Sharingan in one shot. Growling slightly under his breath at what he was about to do, Kakashi hoisted himself onto the bed.

_Thump._

As if Sakura sensed a presence coming in close range of her, the kunoichi's legs started to kick randomly, trying desperately to fight off her ghostly enemy. Kakashi silently begged for Sakura's forgiveness as he straddled her hips tightly, preventing any lower body movements. A whimper and choked scream rattled the pink-haired medic's exhausted body and Kakashi knew it was now or never.

_Thump._

"Hurry up, Kakashi! Her stress levels are off the charts!"

Kakashi leaned forward and grabbed Sakura's thrashing head with both his hands, rendering her cranium motionless. His student gasped, eyes still darting around in her fog of illusion, trying to find the exit out of her terrifying trap. Kakashi never saw so much fear lay in her jade eyes, despite all the high-class missions and betrayal and loss. He tried to convince himself that it wasn't because of him. In a way, they were the same. Both were fearless in different contexts and today was the day of reckoning.

_Thump._

Kakashi tried to find _his_ Sakura that lay beneath the clouded irises but his attempt was fruitless. Taking a deep breath, the silver-haired shinobi released his Sharingan. The room became flooded in a deep shade of red as his right eye shut. All the actions around him slowed to a point where a snail would've performed them faster. Kakashi held his breath and locked onto Sakura's hidden pupils, gaining her attention.

It didn't take long for her to be thrown into yet another genjutsu. Kakashi always liked the way the Sharingan did things quickly and to the point. The jounin let himself be immersed into his jutsu and watched as Sakura's desperate attempts to free herself dash away. In a few seconds, however, her desire to pull out of her restraints returned more vigorous than before. Instead of recognizing her sensei's familiar chakra, Sakura was too far gone to let herself be swept into Kakashi's Sharingan.

"No! Stop! _Stop!_"

Kakashi's grip on Sakura's head tightened as she tried to thrash out of his palms. He could feel her buck beneath him, trying to throw the 'perpetrator' off her body. Kakashi gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly. She needed to accept the Sharingan's entrance. If she didn't, she would be gone.

A scream ripped through her mouth and Kakashi leaned in closer, his forehead practically touching her own that glistened with sweat. His Sharingan throbbed and proceeded to prod into his student's cloudy eyes, gradually gaining access to her tortured mind.

_Thump._

"_Stop!_"

Kakashi only prodded deeper, trying to detect the bindings of her genjutsu so he could break them with the Sharingan. He could only pray that it wouldn't hurt her. His hopes were cast aside as another scream pierced his ears. Kakashi felt himself start to sweat under the pressure and used his thumbs to pull the skin at her sockets to give the Sharingan more access. _I'm sorry, Sakura._

There. An opening.

Sakura convulsed as the red and black swirls of Kakashi's Sharingan took over her vision. Kakashi could see the dark cloud start to disperse from her emerald irises, but the new foreign genjutsu led Sakura to believe that she was being attacked once again.

She whispered in quick huffs of breath, "Stop, stop. Please, stop."

Kakashi didn't relinquished his hold, but took hold of her left hand with his right and squeezed her limp fingers, "Trust me, Sakura. Let go and trust me."

_Thump._

The copy nin could see Sakura fighting to detach her eyes from his own red one, but the Sharingan's hold was too strong for her to break free. In Kakashi's 'second sight' he could see the previous genjutsu start to waver and disappear. The silver-haired jounin tried to calm his student by squeezing her left hand in reassurance and painted her a portrait of a serene landscape with his Sharingan. He could hear Tsunade report that Sakura's stress levels were decreasing slowly, but they were still in the danger zone.

Kakashi whispered to Sakura's quivering frame while releasing some of the tight grip on her hips, "It's okay, Sakura. Just trust your old sensei."

He felt a light pressure secure itself around his right hand and breathed out the breath he had harbored at her positive response. Kakashi knew he wouldn't be able to keep the peaceful illusion for her up for long. The Sharingan was not created for that purpose. As the jounin felt his breaths start to labor, he knew that there wasn't much time before his red weapon would construe torturous images of its own, or knock her out completely.

_Thump._

The previous genjutsu had not worn off completely, and its effects were still being observed by Kakashi. Sakura's body wouldn't be able to hold out much longer and his own body was starting to fatigue from the Sharingan's usage and for its unusual purpose this time around. The red iris stung and smarted immensely and Kakashi could feel his body start to go limp from the amount of chakra he was using to save Sakura's mind.

_Thump._

Kakashi wasn't scared. He was terrified.

The copy nin let go of Sakura's head and hand, grabbing onto the bed railings for dear life. He never let his Sharingan leave her green orbs for a second and he noted that the cloud had disappeared completely.

"That's enough, Kakashi. She's stable. You – I'm not so sure."

His body started to tremor and he knew immediately that he had overdone it. Kakashi could feel the Godaime wrap her strong arms around his limp body and drag him off Sakura's bed, placing him against the wall adjacent. He shut his left eye tightly, gasping at the pain once it's illusion had been cut off. Kakashi slumped down the white wall and tried to scratch and rub the throbbing stings away. He could feel Tsunade slap his hands away from his precious eye and proceed to cover it with a cool cloth laced with healing chakra.

Kakashi could hear the relief and smile in the Fifth's voice, "Calm down, Hatake. The pain will subside shortly. It's due to over-exerting yourself yet again. But, at least this time, it was for a greater cause."

Kakashi sighed in contentment as the cloth seemed to drain away the agony from his Sharingan. Opening his right grey eye, he looked to the Godaime and quietly asked, "Sakura..?"

Tsunade smiled again and let her eyes wander over to her apprentice's bed before returning her chocolate gaze to Kakashi, "Asleep. She'll be fine for now. It may take a few days for her to fully heal, but the most crucial damage has been dealt with. You did good, Hatake."

Kakashi slowly got up to his knees and grabbed the wall for support to stand. The Godaime silently watched his struggled steps to his roseate-haired student's bed. Kakashi collapsed against the railing of her bed and held them loosely. His shinobi-trained eye traced the light contours of Sakura's sleeping face and smiled slightly at her finally peaceful expression. Before the copy nin realized, his hand had reached out to stroke her pink tresses back into their rightful places.

He was still so scared, so shaken, but the tranquil breaths of Sakura convinced him that it was okay.

Running a hand through Sakura's roseate locks one last time, he smiled. He placed his hand atop of her head and ruffled the pastel hair, effectively ruining his attempts to rid the tangles.

Black dots began to engulf his vision, the portrait of Sakura's serene face becoming blacked out. Kakashi felt himself fall backwards to be caught by Tsunade's awaiting hands. "Sleep, Kakashi. You don't need to be scared for her anymore."

Kakashi couldn't hear the old woman's statement as he finally slipped into unconsciousness. Before he surrendered to the darkness, however, he had already come to terms. Maybe he wasn't so fearless after all. Who knew that a 15-year-old girl could bring him down so easily?

He smiled.

_Thump._

o-o-o-o-o

_A/N:_ Another oneshot with traces of KakaSaku. I had this idea in my mind for a while. I hope the image of Kakashi straddling Sakura to pin her down wasn't too sexual. I didn't mean for it to be taken that way, I swear! -- does not convince audience--

While I was writing this little piece, I was listening to Umbrella by Rihanna. That damn umbrella won't get out of my head now. Very catchy, I must say.

I'm currently working on Oxygen chap 3, so never fear!

Thanks for reading and drop by a review.

_- - H. 92_


End file.
